Donnie Fritts

Donnie Fritts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Donnie Fritts (born November 8, 1942, Florence, Alabama) is an American session musician and songwriter. A recording artist in his own right, he has been Kris Kristofferson's keyboardist for over forty years as of 2013. In 2008, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

He began playing drums in local bands such as the Satellites and Hollis Dixon at age 15, and later developed into a session keyboard player.

Working closely with Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill, Dan Penn, Arthur Alexander, David Briggs, Jerry Carrigan and Norbert Putnam, Fritts was involved in many of the early songs and recordings created in the Muscle Shoals music industry.

Kris Kristofferson

In 1965, Fritts signed with a Nashville publishing company. Songs which he wrote were recorded by Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis. He later met Kris Kristofferson who was just beginning a career in songwriting. When forming his band, Kristofferson called on Fritts, who continued as his keyboard player for over two decades, performing live, on recordings and in numerous movies.[1]

Film career

Through his association with Kristofferson, Fritts appeared in three of Sam Peckinpah's movies: "Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid", "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia", and "Convoy" as well as other movies including "A Star Is Born" and "Songwriter".[2]